Month: June 2005

Agency WPS
The Russian Business Monitor (Russia)
June 20, 2005, Monday
VNESHTORGBANK IS READY TO PLACE UP TO 25% OF ITS SHARES AT AN
EXCHANGE
Vneshtorgbank may become a public company already in 2006, and 10-25%
of its shares will belong to portfolio investors. Management of
Vneshtorgbank is preparing an IPO of the bank’s shares having
obtained support of a majority of members of the Board of Directors.
Almost 100% of Vneshtorgbank shares belong to the government. In
2004, assets of Vneshtorgbank group reached $20 billion, capital
amounted to $3 billion, credit portfolio amounted to $11 billion and
net profit amounted to $440 million. Besides Vneshtorgbank the group
of Vneshtorgbank also includes Russian commercial banks in
Switzerland and on Cyprus, Austrian Donau-Bank, East-West United Bank
in Luxembourg, German Ost-West Handelsbank, Armsberbank in Armenia,
United Bank of Georgia, Vneshtorgbank (Ukraine) and four subsidiaries
in Russia including Guta-bank bought in 2004 (its new brand is
Vneshtorgbank-24).
For the first time President of Vneshtorgbank, Andrei Kostin,
expressed the idea to place shares at the exchange in March 2005,
opening a subsidiary of the bank in Kyiv in the presence of Vladimir
Putin. At the same time it was reported that negotiations on sale of
a stake in the bank to strategic investors (Deutsche Bank, Mediobanca
and EBRD) were suspended.
Since then the bank did not waste time and was developing an IPO
program. Kostin reported about this. He said, “I would organize an
IPO of a certain stake already in 2006, in Russia and, for instance,
at the London or at the New York stock exchange.” According to
Kostin, “It is possible to start from a block bigger than 10% but
smaller than blocking interest anyway.” Consultants from Deutsche
Bank will advise Vneshtorgbank which block it needs to place and on
which market and then management of the bank will forward its
proposal to the government.
The President of Vneshtorgbank says, “The government may reject it
but we believe that sooner or later this issue will be raised because
capital adequacy is the limit that will hinder our development.”
Arkady Dvorkovich, director of the presidential expert department,
says that although Kostin’s plan has not been discussed by the Board
of Directors of Vneshtorgbank all directors are aware of it.
Dvorkovich calls the plan to conduct the IPO by the end of 2006,
realistic and takes it positively. Another member of the Board of
Vneshtorgbank, Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Andrei
Sharonov, called this step “strategically correct.”
Gennady Yezhov of the Finance Ministry says that Chair of the
Supervisory Board, Finance Minister, Alexei Kudrin, “knows about the
proposals of the President of Vneshtorgbank but abstains from
comments before the discussion by the Board.” A source acquainted
with the stance of the ministry explains that because of the IPO
Vneshtorgbank will have to disclose information about the clients and
deals of the bank related to the military industrial complex. Another
source in the ministry agrees that the IPO bears big risks. In any
case, Kostin discussed the IPO with Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov
and obtained his support, confirmed two sources in the government.
One of the sources said that they discussed a deal with a 10% stake
to be placed in Russia on account of shares of a new issue.
The polled bankers cannot say how much Vneshtorgbank will cost by the
moment of the placing because before the IPO the bank should
consolidate all its new assets. In summer 2004, Vneshtorgbank
acquired an 86% stake in Guta-bank and in spring it bought a 25%
stake in Promstroibank St. Petersburg. Until the end of 2005,
Vneshtorgbank plans to increase its interest in Promstroibank to 75%
and to receive from the Central Bank stakes in Russian banks abroad
headed by London-based Moscow Narodny Bank. Relevant amendments to
the budget are being currently prepared. They will make provisions
for increase of capital of Vneshtorgbank by 42 billion roubles.
According to Director of the Federal Service of Financial Markets
Oleg Vyugin, placing of a 10% stake of Vneshtorgbank even on a
Russian exchange will enable the bank to earn not less than $1
billion. The goal of Kostin to increase capital of the bank to $5-10
billion to have “a bank of European size.” In 2003, Vneshtorgbank
with capital of $2.4 billion took 179th place on the list of the
largest banks according to The Banker magazine. The leader of the
list was Citigroup with capital of $66.9 billion. Capital of the
largest French bank, Credit Agricole, amounted to $55.4 billion
(second place), capital of the largest British bank, HSBC, amounted
to $54.9 billion (third place) and capital of the largest bank of
Germany, Deutsche Bank, amounted to $27.3 billion (12th place). All
these banks are public companies.
Experts say that the market will buy up shares of Vneshtorgbank
because besides Sberbank there are no other public banks in Russia.
Chair of the Board of Directors of Troika Dialog, Ruben Vardanyan, is
convinced that shares would become a blue chip. Vyugin agrees that
shares of Vneshtorgbank will enjoy success and will have liquidity
not less than liquidity of Sberbank shares.
Source: Vedomosti, June 17, 2005

Agency WPS
The Russian Oil and Gas Report (Russia)
June 20, 2005, Monday
THE STATE TO RECEIVE CONTROLLING INTEREST IN GAZPROM FOR $7.155
BILLION
The state will receive controlling interest in Gazprom already next
week. For 10.74% of its shares the gas monopoly will receive 203.5
billion roubles ($7.155 billion). The Board of Directors of Gazprom
made the relevant decision on June 16. In any case, Gazprom will see
this sum much later than its subsidiaries sell the shares.
In 2004, Gazprom produced 545 billion cubic meters of gas. In 2004,
revenue of Gazprom according to Russian standards amounted to 887
billion roubles and profit amounted to 161 billion roubles. The state
owns 38.37% of Gazprom shares, Rosgazifikatsiya has 0.9% and
subsidiaries of Gazprom (as of May 17) have 18.26%. The government
will buy out 10.74% of Gazprom shares from its subsidiaries to
increase the state-owned stake to controlling interest and to
liberalize the market of Gazprom shares. State-run company
Rosneftegaz will be the buyer.
On June 16, the Board of Directors of Gazprom finally decided how
much the company would receive from the state for 10.74% of its
shares. The stake was estimated at 203.5 billion roubles ($7.155
billion). Gazprom reports that four subsidiaries of the gas monopoly
will participate in the deal. These are Gazprombank,
Gazprominvestholding, Gazfond and Gazprom Finance BV. They will sell
10.74% of Gazprom shares to the state-run company Rosneftegaz.
Two government officials say that the state will receive the shares
in a few days but the new owner will pay for them by the end of the
year. One of the officials adds, “Rosneftegaz and Gazprom will
negotiate directly about the deadline for payment for the shares.”
The reason is that Rosneftegaz does not have money now and needs to
reach an agreement with a consortium of banks on a credit for buyout
of the shares.
The other official does not rule out that Gazprom will receive money
by autumn and Rosneftegaz will announce creation of a banking
syndicate by the shareholders’ meeting of Gazprom to be held on June
24. According to a preliminary scheme, Rosneftegaz will offer a block
of Rosneft shares as collateral to the creditors. Auditors from
2K-Audit estimated Rosneft at $26 billion. The official says that the
parties will determine the size of the stake in negotiations.
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, Boris
Fedorov, promised to investors that Gazprom would receive money for
its shares in 2005. A source in Gazprom explains, “We are obliged to
close the deal by the end of the year, otherwise there is a risk that
it will be considered false.”
An official who participated in the meeting of the Board of Directors
of Gazprom reported that it did not take the directors much time to
approve the deal. He said, “We voted in accordance with the
governmental directive. There was no discussion.”
Proposal of the state was supported by the management of Gazprom and
independent members of the Executive Board, Boris Fedorov and CEO of
E. On Ruhrgas Burkhard Bergmann. CEO of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, who
negotiated with President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan on June 16,
voted in a written form beforehand.
The authorities and Gazprom did not agree on the price at once. The
Board of Directors of the gas monopoly were going to approve the deal
back on June 15, but could not do this because it had no governmental
directive. The Economic Development and Trade Ministry sent a draft
directive to the government on June 14, but Prime Minister Mikhail
Fradkov did not dare sign the document. The price of 203.5 billion
roubles indicated in the directive was not suitable for Gazprom,
which counted on at least at $8-8.5 billion.
According to Fedorov, due to the indecisiveness of the Prime Minister
directors stayed in Gazprom for seven hours on June 15, and left the
office at midnight. The Prime Minister signed the directive in the
daytime on June 16.
Now Gazprom is most of all concerned about the taxes that it will
have to pay from sale of the shares. According to Fedorov, Gazprom
will have to pay $1 billion of the $7.15 billion to the state.
Managing partner of Timothy’s, Yevgeny Timofeev comments, “Any
conversation about tax allowances is political. It is legally
impossible to minimize tax payments in such a deal.”
Fedorov states that Gazprom and the government are seriously inclined
to fully liberalize the market of Gazprom shares by the end of 2005.
Fedorov concludes, “There are no reasons to stop this process. If the
government submits amendments to the law on gas supplies to the
parliament in September, they will be passed quickly and the
presidential decree limiting turnover of the company’s shares may be
abolished earlier.”
Source: Vedomosti, June 17, 2005
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 20, 2005 Monday 12:45 PM Eastern Time
Azerbaijani diplomat hopes for results at talks on Karabakh
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva and Viktor Shulman
BAKU
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said there are chances to yield
positive results at the talks on the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Azimov, who is also the president’s special envoy for the talks on
the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, said on Monday, “The situation is
changing. There are chances to yield results at the talks on
Nagorno-Karabakh.”
At the same time, he stressed that after the Warsaw talks “there is a
hope for bringing closer to each other and finding a common
language.”
The diplomat said the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents might meet
in Kazan as part of the CIS summit in August. Ahead of the summit the
foreign ministers of the two countries may hold talks if it
necessary, Azimov noted.
It is necessary to step up the talks. Experts should meet to discuss
variants of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, the deputy minister said. He
did not rule out a possibility of new proposals, which may be put
forth by co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group for Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The latest meetings with them allow us to hope for this,” he added.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 20, 2005 Monday
Azerbaijan calls for restoring traffic to Nakhichevan via Karabakh
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva and Viktor Shulman
BAKU
Azerbaijan calls for restoring traffic to Nakhichevan via
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, including via the Lachin district of
Azerbaijan, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said.
Azimov, who is also the president’s special envoy for the talks on
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, said on Monday this initiative had been
put forth in Paris as part of the talks between the Azerbaijani and
Armenian foreign ministers, as well as co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group for Nagorno-Karabakh. “Both sides will use this road on the
equal basis. No one is interested in blocking it or creating any
obstacles for traffic,” the deputy minister said.
In his view, this project “has great political significance because
it will help create confidence-building measures between Azerbaijan
and Armenia.”
The diplomat stressed that it is necessary to restore certain
sections of traffic and create links between them. Azimov said
financial aid would be provided by the U.N., the EU, several
international organisations and donor countries that had pledged it
after the political settlement of the conflict.
In addition, he said, “At the initial stage international forces may
ensure security of traffic and other links.”

California Courier Online, June 23, 2005
1 – Commentary
German Parliament Deals Fatal Blow
To Turkish Denial of Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
2 – Dr. Yervant Zorian Named 2005 IEEE
Industrial Pioneer Award Recipient
3- Catholicos Karekin II Continues
Pontifical Visit to Central California
4 – Lark Hosts
Musical Salute
To the Baltaians
5 – House Foreign Aid Panel OK’s
$67.5 Million for Armenia in ’06
6 – Djanbazian Dance
Company Invited
To Italy Event
7 – Deadline for AEF’s Richard R.
Tufenkian Scholarships is July 30
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1 – Commentary
German Parliament Deals Fatal Blow
To Turkish Denial of Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Last week, there were three important countries that had not yet recognized
the Armenian Genocide: Germany, the United States and Great Britain.
Following last Thursday’s action by the German Bundestag (parliament),
there are now only two major countries left that are still in denial: the
United States and Great Britain.
Just a few months ago, if anyone had said that Germany would adopt a
resolution on the Armenian Genocide anytime soon, we would have questioned
that person’s sanity.
There are several reasons why the German Parliament’s decision is a
significant development:
— Germany is one of Turkey’s staunchest allies in Europe;
— German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his ruling party were initially
completely opposed to this proposed resolution;
— While only 30,000 Armenians live in Germany, there are more than 3
million Turks in that country;
— The Turkish government and the large Turkish community in Germany tried
everything in their power to block the consideration of this resolution by
the German Parliament;
–All the political factions in the Bundestag, including the ruling party,
ended up unanimously supporting the resolution on the Armenian Genocide;
— The resolution states that the Germans acknowledge their own share of
guilt in the Armenian Genocide and urge the Turks to face up to their dark
past.
The Bundestag’s adoption of this resolution deals a fatal blow to the
Turkish government’s desperate attempts to bury the issue of the Armenian
Genocide. This must be particularly demoralizing for Turkish Prime Minister
Receb Tayyip Erdogan who spared no time and effort trying to convince the
world that there was no such thing as Armenian Genocide. In fact, as I have
written repeatedly in this column, the more the Turks try to block the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the more they bring this issue up to
the attention of world leaders and the international news media. For
example, at the beginning of June, a Turkish group paid close to million
dollars to send to Time magazine’s half a million European subscribers a
70-minute long DVD that denied and distorted the facts of the Armenian
Genocide. The Turks thus made another half a million people aware of the
Armenian Genocide.
Ironically, a big debt of gratitude for the success of the German
resolution goes to Turkey’s own ambassador to Germany, Mehmet Ali
Irtemcelik. He inadvertently helped the passage of the proposed bill by
insulting the members of the German Parliament during his hysterical
efforts to block its passage.
Some Armenians are troubled by the fact that the Germans took this
initiative in order to accomplish their own agenda of preventing Turkey
from joining the European Union. The concern is that the Germans appear to
be exploiting the issue of the Armenian Genocide to further their own
interests. In my opinion, it is salutary that German and Armenian
objectives have coincided in this instance. Such a convergence would ensure
that the Germans would not easily back away from the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, as they would not want to abandon their own interests.
After all, how can one expect the leaders of a country to side with the
Armenians on any issue, if doing so would run counter to their own
interests!
Some Armenians are also not pleased that the resolution refers to “the
deportations and massacres” of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey, rather than a
direct use of the term “genocide.” In the official explanation of the
resolution, the text actually does use the word “genocide,” and describes
in great detail the atrocities committed against the Armenians by the Young
Turk regime. Furthermore, the resolution uses various other words that are
the equivalents of genocide, such as “mass murder, extermination or
annihilation, and destruction.” It states that “numerous independent
historians, parliaments, and international organizations designate the
expulsion and destruction of the Armenians as a genocide [Volkermord].” The
resolution also estimates the number of those killed in the genocide as
“more than a million,” according to “independent calculations.” It
acknowledges that the German Reich, as the chief ally of the Ottoman Empire
during WW1, was deeply involved in the mass murder of Armenians.
In the past few days, hundreds of articles have been published on the
adoption of the Armenian resolution by the German Parliament. Once again,
the Turkish leaders made matters worse for themselves by lashing out at the
German government. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul described the resolution
as “irresponsible, dismaying, and wounding.” Prime Minister Erdogan
referred to it as “wrong and ugly.” He said that history would put the
German leaders to shame. This undiplomatic name-calling further antagonized
the Germans. A spokesman for the German government said he disagreed with
Erdogan’s characterization, saying that the resolution was “balanced.” The
Turkish and German exchange of words following the passage of the
resolution generated more articles on this issue. Thanks to Turkish
demonstrations and protests in both Ankara and Berlin, the international
media continued to provide extensive coverage of the fall-out from the
resolution on the Armenian Genocide.
As prominent Turkish commentator Mehmet Ali Birand wrote last Saturday in
the Turkish Daily News: “The Armenian genocide allegations are being
approved by a new parliament every passing day. The trap we are in is
closing on us. One day we will see, we are left alone by ourselves. All
Western parliaments will accept the genocide and will be applying pressure
on their governments. The recent development in the German parliament is
just a typical example of this. Let’s not see this as a stab in the back.
Armenians have dominated the international arena to such an extent that the
governments no longer feel the need to resist them.”
The noose is tightening around the neck of genocide deniers. It is only a
matter of time before the other two countries, the United States and Great
Britain, would abandon their feeble attempts to deny what their own
archives prove beyond the shadow of a doubt. Then Turkey would have no
place to run and no place to hide. The Turkish leaders should realize that
without acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and without making appropriate
amends to the survivors, Turkey has no chance of being admitted to the
European Union.
The lengthy text of the German Parliament’s resolution makes that point
abundantly clear.
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2 – Dr. Yervant Zorian Named 2005 IEEE
Industrial Pioneer Award Recipient
ANAHEIM, Calif. /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Citing his enormous contributions
to design-for-test and embedded repair technology for complex
System-on-Chip (SoC) design, Dr. Yervant Zorian, vice president and chief
scientist at Virage Logic
Corporation (Nasdaq: VIRL) was last week named the 2005 IEEE Circuits and
Systems (CAS) Industrial Pioneer award recipient. Dr. Zorian’s technical
accomplishments include pioneering work in Built-In Self-Test (BIST) and
embedded repair technologies and products that have dramatically boosted
the quality, reliability and manufacturability of digital systems.
In 2000, Dr. Zorian brought his technology vision and expertise in BIST
solutions to Virage Logic where he helped to pioneer a new class of
Intellectual Property (IP) called Silicon Aware IP’.
“The self-test and repair capabilities that Dr. Zorian developed for SoCs
have become the de facto standard in 90-nanometer technology for much of
the electronics designed around the world,” said Adam Kablanian, president
and CEO of Virage Logic. “His pioneering vision for providing an effective
test technology solution integrated with IP has enabled Virage Logic to
deliver a proven path for design success at the advanced process geometries
of 130nm and below. We are proud to have such a technology visionary on our
team and congratulate him on his selection by the IEEE as their 2005
Industrial Pioneer.”
Each year, the IEEE CAS Society honors outstanding scientists and engineers
who have successfully translated their research into commercial products or
applications. With the Silicon Aware STAR Memory System, Dr. Zorian turned
the concepts of embedded repair to real life systems that are yieldable and
reliable, and succeeded in penetrating the industry and changing its
standard practices.
“It is a great honor to be selected by the IEEE CAS Society for this
award,” said Dr. Zorian, vice president and chief scientist of
Virage Logic.
Dr. Zorian joined Virage Logic in 2000 as Chief Scientist. Prior to
joining Virage Logic, he served as Chief Technology Advisor at LogicVision
and as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs, AT&T. His
responsibilities included developing and disseminating embedded test and
repair solutions for IP cores, chips, boards and systems. Dr. Zorian also
serves on the Board of Directors of several public and privately owned
companies.
Dr. Zorian has authored over 300 papers and four books, received several
best paper awards, and holds twelve U.S. patents. He is a Golden Core
Member of IEEE Computer Society, Honorary Doctor of the National Academy of
Sciences of Armenia, and a Fellow of IEEE. Dr. Zorian received his master’s
degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Southern California,
a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from McGill University and an
executive master’s degree in Business Administration from Wharton School of
Business, University of Pennsylvania.
*****************************************************************
3 – Catholicos Karekin II Continues
Pontifical Visit to Central California
FRESNO – Catholicos Karekin II departed Los Angeles for Fresno, continuing
his Pontifical visit to the United States with a trip to Central and
Northern California.
Accompanied by Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, and his entourage, the Pontiff
was greeted at the Fresno airport at 11 a.m. by the clergy of the region,
as well as representatives of the Parish Councils, Ladies’ Societies and
ACYO.
At 12 noon a “Hrashapar” service took place at the St. Paul Armenian
Church, marking his official entrance into the San Joaquin Valley.
The Catholicos was accompanied by Primate Derderian as well as Archbishop
Nerses Bozabalyan from the Mother See, Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, and
Vicar General of the Diocese Very Rev. Fr. Dajad Dz. V. Yardemian.
Participating in the service were the Pastors of St. Gregory the
illuminator Church of Fowler, Sts. Sahag Mesrob Armenian Church of Reedley,
St. Mary Armenian Church of Yettem, Holy Cross Armenian Church in Turlock,
visiting Pastor of the Armenian Church of Arizona, and Archpriest Fr.
Artoon Sempadian, retired, as well as deacons and choir members.
The Catholicos praised God for the opportunity for a second visit to the
Western Diocese. He spoke of the difficulties facing the Armenian Church
and conveyed his optimism that combined efforts will make it possible to
overcome difficulties. He commended the faithful of Fresno and urged them
to continue to remain connected to the Armenian Apostolic Church, the
Christian Faith and their cultural heritage. Following the service,
Catholicos Karekin II held a press conference, and was interviewed by
local media and press.
The following day, The Catholicos celebrated Pontifical Divine Liturgy on
June 12, at St. Paul Armenian Church with the participation of the clergy
and parishes of Central California.
Serving on the Altar were Archpriest Fr. Vartan Kasparian, Pastor of St.
Mary Armenian Church in Yettem, and Archpriest Fr. Kevork Arakelian Pastor
of St. Gregory Armenian Church in Fowler. Deacons also participated in the
Liturgy. The Litutgy was sung by the united choir of Central California.
Primate of the Catholic Church of Fresno, Bishop John Steinbeck was also in
attendance.
A large number of faithful received Holy Communion from the Catholicos.
A Pontifical banquet followed at the Fresno Convention Center, where the
Catholicos blessed the attendees, praised God and commended the work of
Reception Committee.
**************************************************************
4 – Lark Hosts
Musical Salute
To the Baltaians
GLENDALE – The Lark Musical Society will host a salute to the prolific and
talented musical Baltaian Family on June 22 in Glendale.
The “Salute to the Baltaians” will be held at the First United Methodist
Church of Glendale, 134 N. Kenwood, starting at 8 p.m.
The event is a toast to the life and work of three generations of Armenian
musicians from Bulgaria, Sarkis Baltaian, Garo Baltaian, Aroussiak Baltaian
and Sarkis Baltaian, their musical contribution to Armenian music in
general, and the cultural life of Bulgarian Armenians.
Hosted by Taghouhi Arzoumanian, the event will feature the participation of
Karine Kevorkian, Victoria Symonian, Susanna Atasuntz, and the Lark Chorus,
directed by Vatsche Barsoumian.
**************************************************************************
5 – House Foreign Aid Panel OK’s
$67.5 Million for Armenia in ’06
WASHINGTON, DC – A key House Appropriations Subcommittee voted last week to
maintain high aid levels to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh despite ongoing
overall reductions to former Soviet states. The 2006 Foreign Operations
Appropriations Bill, which lawmakers passed by voice vote, calls for $67.5
million for Armenia, up to $5 million for Nagorno Karabagh and maintains
military assistance parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan with $5.75
million allocated to each country.
The level of funding for Armenia is $12.5 million above the Bush
Administration’s request submitted to Congress earlier this year.
The action also allocated $5 million in Foreign Military Financing and
$750,000 for International Military Education and Training to both Armenia
and Azerbaijan, as requested by the Bush Administration. These funds will
improve inter-operability between Armenia’s military and its Western
partners, upgrade Armenia’s communication systems and better its personnel
training.
In April, the Armenian Assembly submitted testimony before the House
Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, outlining the need for
Congress to continue funding to Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. The Assembly
said that such assistance has helped both countries move forward as
independent, market-reformed and democratic states.
The bill will next be considered by the full House Appropriations
Committee. Once the full House and Senate complete action on their version
of the bill, a joint House-Senate Conference Committee will reconcile the
differences.
**************************************************************************
6 – Djanbazian Dance
Company Invited
To Italy Event
LOS ANGELES – After the success of “Komitas, Kroong Bnaver – Banished but
Not Forgotten, (which was the big winner of the 14th Lester Horton Dance
Awards in Los Angeles in April 2005) Anna Djanbazian and her Dance Company
have been invited to participate in the “Dance Grand Prix Italia 2005” in
Cesena, Italy.
About 1,100 dancers from five continents will compete in the big Italian
dance event to be held on June 26 at the Bonci Theatre, considered one of
the most beautiful ancient theatres in Europe. This competition will
include all types of Dance: Classical, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop,
Funky, Folk and various interpretations of Dance Theatre Laboratories.
The Djanbazian Academy will be presenting three dances choreographed by
Anna Djanbazian:
Members of the Dance troupe include Arsineh Ananian, Ani Grigorian,
Narineh Ghazarians and Anna Daibyan.
Future performances include an original full length chorography based on
the life of the famous Persian poet “Rumi” to be held at the Freud Theater
at UCLA Jan. 7 and 8, 2006, and cultural dance presentation at the Disney
Center, November 12, 2006.
For more details about the tour and future performances, visit:
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7- Deadline for AEF’s Richard R.
Tufenkian Scholarships is July 30
GLENDALE – The Armenian Educational Foundation (AEF) announced last week it
is now accepting applications for the Richard R. Tufenkian Scholarship for
the 2005 – 2006 academic year. Deadline for submissions is July 30.
The Richard R. Tufenkian Scholarship was established by Ralph and Savey
Tufenkian in memory of their son.
Five $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to Armenian undergraduate students
at an accredited United States college/university. To qualify for this
scholarship, students must be of Armenian descent, have a minimum 3.0 GPA,
show financial need, and be actively involved in the Armenian community.
Students who meet the above criteria are invited to submit a written
request for an application to the AEF Scholarship Committee, 600 West
Broadway, Suite 130, Glendale, CA 91204.
Written requests for applications can also be made by FAX (818) 242-4913
or E-mail [email protected]. All completed scholarship application
packages must be postmarked no later than July 30, 2005. Applications are
also available on
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*
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Airline Industry Information
June 20, 2005
Turkish national arrested at Armenia’s Yerevan airport
AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-©1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
The National Security Service of Armenia detained a Turkish
researcher at the Yerevan airport on 17 June.
The security service said that the man, who is a Turkish national,
was suspected of smuggling antique books out of the country. An
anonymous official said that the researcher had been arrested, having
in his possession books from the 17th to 20th centuries, and was
suspected of trying to secretly take them aboard a flight to Turkey.
According to The Associated Press the man is likely to be fined,
although the maximum sentence is five years in jail. In Armenia it is
reportedly not permitted to take books older than 50 years from the
country without special permission.
(Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 20, 2005, Monday
CHIEF OF THE ARMENIAN GENERAL STAFF ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF VIOLATING
THE CFE TREATY
Colonel General Mikhail Arutyunian, chief of the Armenian General
Staff has accused Azerbaijan of violating the CFE Treaty. According
to a top-level military man, “Azerbaijan has 50-100% more tanks and
100-125% more artillery units than is allowed under the treaty.”
General Arutyunian says Azerbaijan’s protests are groundless with
regard to relocation of Russian arms from military bases in Georgia
to the 102nd Russian Military Base in Armenia. In his words,
redeployment of the Russian arms won’t shift the balance of forces in
the region. “Russia won’t hand the arms over to Armenia but provide
its base in Armenia with extra armaments,” the general noted.
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, June 17, 2005, p. 5

IN PLAN OF ORGANIZATION OF ELECTIONS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAS TO LEARN
SOMETHING FROM KARABAKH, BRITISH OBSERVER SAYS
STEPANAKERT, JUNE 20. ARMINFO. In the plan of organization of
elections great Britain has to learn something from Nagorny
Karabakh. Marc Almond, observer from the Helsinki group on defence of
human rights of Great Britain, stated during the news conference on
the results of the parliamentary elections in NKR.
“I became a witness of a full democratic electoral process, and I
think many recognized states should follow the example of Nagorny
Karabakh. Much was organized better here than in Great Britain”, he
said. Speaking of the course of the parliamentary elections in NKR,
the observe said that the British observation mission did not register
any gross violation either by electoral commissions or electors.

Exxon to pay $30 million for pulling out of Azeri field
Reuters
June 20, 2005
BAKU, June 20 (Reuters) – U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil will pay
Azerbaijan around $30 million in compensation after giving up on
exploring the Nakhichevan oil field in the Caspian Sea, the head of
the Azeri state oil firm said on Monday. “We have concluded our
discussions with Exxon Mobil on Nakhichevan,” Natik Aliyev, president
of Azeri state oil firm SOCAR, told reporters. “The amount of
compensation will be around $30 million.”
An exploration well drilled in 2002 did not find commercial quantities
of oil and earlier this year Exxon pulled out of drilling at a second
site on Nakhichevan.
SOCAR will now discuss with Exxon its claim for compensation for
pulling out of another Caspian field, Zafar Mashal, where it spent
$150 million fruitlessly in 2004.
Exxon is still involved in three Azeri projects, although two have
been frozen by a territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Iran.

Edicom, Suisse
20 Juin 2005
Législatives au Haut-Karabakh: les partis pro-gouvernementaux
remportent la majorité
EREVAN (AP) – Les partis pro-gouvernementaux ont récolté la majorité
des sièges lors des législatives qui se sont déroulées dimanche dans
l’enclave arménienne du Haut-Karabakh en Azerbaïdjan qui a proclamé
son indépendance selon les résultats annoncés lundi par la commission
électorale.
Le Parti démocrate de l’Artsakh, principale formation qui soutient le
gouvernement du président Arkadi Goukassian, a obtenu 12 des 33
sièges de l’assemblée et le parti «Patrie libre», autre formation
pro-gouvernementale, en a gagné dix, selon le chef de la commission
Sergueï Nassibian.
Quelque 90.000 électeurs étaient appelés aux urnes dimanche pour ces
législatives. La participation a atteint plus de 73%. AP